British MPs and their fist-fights: From bar brawls to campaign punches
House of Commons has a two-sword-length gap between opposing sides to prevent physical fights‚ but MPs dont always stick to peaceful debate. Their hot-headed moments changed British politics more than once
The House of Commons keeps its front-benches exactly two sword-lengths apart (a tradition from old-times) but MPs sometimes forget about peaceful debate rules
In my decade-plus as an MP‚ I saw many anger-filled moments: once someone reported me to police for “aggressive pointing“ (which sounds silly now). But many MPs faced worse situations - their quick-temper led to real trouble
About 12 years ago Eric Joyce made headlines with his head-but in parliamentʼs Strangers Bar; this small fight changed British politics big-time. After losing his Labour position Unite union tried getting their person into his seat which made then-leader Ed Miliband change party rules - and thatʼs how Jeremy Corbyn got his chance to lead Labour party later
When the guy threw an egg at me‚ I hit him back
Some old-time fights were more serious: in early 70s Bernadette Devlin slapped home secretary during Bloody Sunday debate; back in 31ʼ there was a real fight on Commons floor when John McGovern and his friends fought with security. Here are some other known cases:
- Neil Kinnock had a toilet fight with a political enemy in early 80s
- A farmer got punched by John Prescott after egg-throwing in 01ʼ
- Eric Joyceʼs bar fight changed Labour party forever
Today MPs face more danger than they cause - with social-media and phones recording everything they think twice before losing their cool. But still sometimes passion beats common-sense and fists do the talking instead of words
